The Irish Farmers Association has accused Irish Sugar plc of attempting to silence it through the courts and pledged to fight an interim injunction won by the company against it yesterday.
The company, which has already closed down one of its two sugar-processing plants at Carlow, because of a growers' boycott over prices, welcomed the High Court decision. The interim injunction restrains the IFA or any one acting in concert with them from taking any steps to implement, encourage or participate in a withdrawal of supplies of sugar beet from the company.
Dr Seβn Brady, chief executive of Irish Sugar, said last night that Mallow sugar factory would have to close by noon today if growers did not begin delivering beet to the factory.
Mr Brady said the order was very welcome and contact with the growers indicated many wished to supply beet and this order allowed them to do that. He said he expected the Irish Farmers Association to act in accordance with the law and all he wanted to see was beet being delivered to the factories.
In a statement last night Mr Tom Parlon, the IFA president, said he was extremely disappointed that Greencore had gone to the courts and said the IFA would defend its right to represent farmers.
"Obviously Greencore would like to take out the IFA leadership and the national beet negotiators. IFA will vigorously defend its legitimate role as the democratically elected representative organisation of beet growers," he said.
He said individual growers had withdrawn their supplies in response to the "highly provocative action by Greencore" in cutting this year's price by 10 per cent.
On last night's Farm News on RT╔ Radio 1, Mr Parlon told Mr Brady that he would have to get the courts to injunct the individual growers to supply to the company. "There have been no pickets on the factories. What you saw was a voluntary withdrawal of beet supplies to the factory because of price. There were protests but there were no pickets," he said.
On a visit to Galway yesterday, the Tβnaiste, Ms Harney, called on both sides to use established procedures to resolve the difficulties.
The Labour Party called on the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, to intervene in the dispute. Half of the 650 workers in the Sugar Company plants have been laid off.